1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods for insertion and placement of an access catheter into a vein or artery of a patient over a guidewire.
Safe placement of an access catheter into the patient's vein or artery is particularly difficult in the case of small, tortuous, collapsed, fragile, and/or difficult to locate vessels. The risk of accidental punctures and/or contamination by the needle after placement of an intravenous catheter is a particular problem. It is therefore of interest to provide devices and methods which protect medical personnel from potential exposure to blood from the movement of the retracting guidewire.
Of particular interest to the present invention, access catheters are often pre-packaged with both a needle and a guidewire where the needle is coaxially received over the guidewire and the catheter is coaxially received over the needle. The needle extends just beyond the distal tip of the catheter so that the assembly of the needle and catheter can be introduced into the vein or other vessel. As soon as entry into the vein is detected, typically by observing flashback, the guidewire can be advanced into the venous lumen, the catheter advanced over the guidewire, and both the needle and guidewire then removed from the catheter, leaving the catheter available for attachment to sources of fluids, drugs or other intravenous materials.
Removal of the needle and guidewire can be problematic as they have a tendency to carry patient blood and risk the treating personnel to exposure. This can be a particular problem in the case of guidewires having a helical or other shaped tip, such as those described in at least some of the published U.S. patent applications listed below.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for use with intravenous and other vascular access catheters to reduce the risk of blood loss and spattering where guidewires and/or needles are withdrawn from the catheter after placement. It would be particularly desirable if such methods and devices were compatible with venous catheters having automatic needle and guidewire retraction mechanisms, as described in the patent publications listed below. At least some of these objectives will be met by the invention as described herein.
2. Background Art
The subject matter of the present invention is related to the following U.S. patent applications, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Each of the various embodiments of an intravenous catheter insertion device described in these patent applications can be combined with the intravenous catheter of the present invention to create an intravenous catheter system.                US 20100210934 Intravenous catheter insertion and blood sample devices and method of use        US 20100094310 Intravenous catheter insertion device and method of use        US 20080300574 Intravenous catheter insertion device and method of useAlso of interest are the following U.S. patents that describe catheters having sidearm connectors: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,704,914; 5,154,703; 5,084,023; 4,585,440; 4,509,534; and 4,177,809.        